Hello one and all.
I have been bothered since my last post that I was unable to remember how to directly link my new wiki the other night. I was thinking that I have failed this class with something so simple.
So I am trying to correct my mistake to get you to my wiki in Web 2.0 style:
http://tslimonthlynotes.wikispaces.com/
I was making the process to complicated. I will be able to sleep better tonight........
I was BLOWN AWAY by the video in this Thing. I watched it twice, pausing to take notes for future reflection and Web exploration trips. There was so much Web content in that video. It shows me that this course has given me a peak and some initial experience in the world of Web 2.0. But there is so much more to be done and explored in utilizing the Web personally and professionally for enrichment and interactions with others.
Prior to this course my use of the Internet was strictly for information gathering and email. I am now a converted believer of the potential that exists to enhance relationships and educational experiences for my myself, colleagues, and my students with Web 2.0. I now have the tools to introduce and teach others how to access and create a varied range of Internet resources. Whether it is blogs, RSS, or links of digital media, social bookmarking, etc, I now have the ability to use and lead others down the Web 2.0 path.
Detroit Public Schools has been making strides to incorporate technology and the infrastructures to support them into its' buildings. It will now be my responsibility to investigate and see how I can bridge my learning into my daily practices. As with all, change is difficult, but as this course has shown me, change can be rewarding. I have invested much time completing and growing in this class. Initially I thought this class would take 1 to 1 1/2 hours per Thing, but I invested considerably more time and effort to be successful in each Thing. I may have less sleep because of this course, but I am excited about what I have learned.
Thanks Carol and Jacki. This was a great experience. I have not taken an on-line class before and had some reservations. I was afraid that I would be unmotivated and find on-line education to be a sub par method of learning compared to a classroom setting. How wrong I was. On-line resources offer everything---text, articles, video, pictures, support, etc. I was also surprised to find that I felt connect with my classmates and facilitators while completing the Things. What do you know, another enlightening part of this experience.
Thanks again and I look forward to crossing paths with everyone in the future. Gregory Jacoby
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Thing 22-Entering the Wiki World
Here is the link to my latest endeavor into the wiki world:
http://tslimonthlynotes.wikispaces.com/
I decided to create a rough draft of monthly departmental notes for my Communication Disorders Department. I often hear from my supervisor the process that occurs each month in trying to collaboratively create monthly notes between 4 individuals. The document is attached to emails and updated with multiple updates coming back to the main contact. So I thought what better New Years' gift could I give my supervisors than that of a wiki. They can edit and save and then share with the staff of speech language pathologists to view for updated notes, images, videos and links. Needless to say having the ability to attach images, videos and links is an added bonus which has not been an option in the past.
I will conduct a mini training session so that my supervisors can learn about wikis and try out a new way of doing business. Much of our administration duties and reports for the district are conducted on computers and Internet based practices.
In creating my wiki I found that I was looking for many of the features I am used to using with Microsoft Word. The options seem to be more limited. I also had problems when content disappeared. I had no "back-up" or "go-back" button to back up to my last step and try to edit a different way. I look under the advanced options but it was not clear as to what those options were. I will have to do some more experimentation with my next document.
Wikis seem to differ from blogs in that wikis can be used to create documents, complete projects, create study guides, etc. Wikis are also represent a shared authorship or ownership of content. Blogs seem to be more for sharing ideas and opinions that build on one another which are housed in one's authored blog site. It seems to be a little harder to see what has been edited with a wiki over time when looking at the latest saved update.
Blogs seem to be more appropriate for representing an individuals interests which invites others to comment and follow that individual's sharing of information and views. Wikis can be for shared experiences where everyone has a vested interest in editing, saving, and improving on a given project. Both medium offer many similar features and abilities to link into images, videos, other web sites, etc.
Another great "Thing" Thanks for the enrichment. Gregory Jacoby
http://tslimonthlynotes.wikispaces.com/
I decided to create a rough draft of monthly departmental notes for my Communication Disorders Department. I often hear from my supervisor the process that occurs each month in trying to collaboratively create monthly notes between 4 individuals. The document is attached to emails and updated with multiple updates coming back to the main contact. So I thought what better New Years' gift could I give my supervisors than that of a wiki. They can edit and save and then share with the staff of speech language pathologists to view for updated notes, images, videos and links. Needless to say having the ability to attach images, videos and links is an added bonus which has not been an option in the past.
I will conduct a mini training session so that my supervisors can learn about wikis and try out a new way of doing business. Much of our administration duties and reports for the district are conducted on computers and Internet based practices.
In creating my wiki I found that I was looking for many of the features I am used to using with Microsoft Word. The options seem to be more limited. I also had problems when content disappeared. I had no "back-up" or "go-back" button to back up to my last step and try to edit a different way. I look under the advanced options but it was not clear as to what those options were. I will have to do some more experimentation with my next document.
Wikis seem to differ from blogs in that wikis can be used to create documents, complete projects, create study guides, etc. Wikis are also represent a shared authorship or ownership of content. Blogs seem to be more for sharing ideas and opinions that build on one another which are housed in one's authored blog site. It seems to be a little harder to see what has been edited with a wiki over time when looking at the latest saved update.
Blogs seem to be more appropriate for representing an individuals interests which invites others to comment and follow that individual's sharing of information and views. Wikis can be for shared experiences where everyone has a vested interest in editing, saving, and improving on a given project. Both medium offer many similar features and abilities to link into images, videos, other web sites, etc.
Another great "Thing" Thanks for the enrichment. Gregory Jacoby
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Thing 21-Wikis
Very interesting session today. As with many topics covered with "23 Things", my paradigms are shifting. As so well put in Lee LeFever's video "Wikis in Plain English", wikis offer a revolutionary way to work on team projects. I am so used to sending documents out to others as an attachment to an email that then gets modified and updated to get to a final draft document. Everyone is always retitling the document so we know which one is the latest version. Editing, saving, and linking at one location where others can meet to create and provide input is great.
As evidenced by the various wiki links that were offered for browsing, wikis definitely provide forums for all interested parties both to participate in the creation and benefit from sharing of information. I found, as an observer of these wikis, that they were very informative and showed many different variations of how a wiki can be utilized.
The wikis that were collaborative projects between schools in very different parts of the world were of particular interest to me. Sites such as Comparing Hemispheres, Welker's Wikinomics and Flat Planet and even Arbor Heights Elementary School all expanded not only students' knowledge on a given subject but also engaged exposing students to different perspectives. This is particularly true when engaging participants in other cultures and geographic locations. Learning has been so much more meaningful when there is a way to personalize the learning, and wikis definitely offer a way of personalization when individuals have a way to be directly involved.
The educational wikis website was a little overwhelming with the breadth of wikis available. Ensuring accuracy of information located in these wikis is one of the main areas that need to be verified or at least kept in perspective as you are engaged in any given wiki. Limiting access to editing of a wiki would be one way of improving the integrity of information within a given wiki. Viewing wikis as a collaborative experience where one is able to interact and enrich one's perspective is one way to not necessarily view information as being explicitly factual. Creating a board of reviews like Wikipedia does would be a difficult control process I would think for the standard wiki developer.
I could see how wikis could be utilized for staff/professional development in my various schools as well as for various administrative projects within my support department of communication disorders. Once a group of individuals is oriented as to how to utilize a wiki, I believe it would be useful. I look forward to creating a wiki for a project in early 2010 to create a more effective, efficient and better overall project. Gregory Jacoby
As evidenced by the various wiki links that were offered for browsing, wikis definitely provide forums for all interested parties both to participate in the creation and benefit from sharing of information. I found, as an observer of these wikis, that they were very informative and showed many different variations of how a wiki can be utilized.
The wikis that were collaborative projects between schools in very different parts of the world were of particular interest to me. Sites such as Comparing Hemispheres, Welker's Wikinomics and Flat Planet and even Arbor Heights Elementary School all expanded not only students' knowledge on a given subject but also engaged exposing students to different perspectives. This is particularly true when engaging participants in other cultures and geographic locations. Learning has been so much more meaningful when there is a way to personalize the learning, and wikis definitely offer a way of personalization when individuals have a way to be directly involved.
The educational wikis website was a little overwhelming with the breadth of wikis available. Ensuring accuracy of information located in these wikis is one of the main areas that need to be verified or at least kept in perspective as you are engaged in any given wiki. Limiting access to editing of a wiki would be one way of improving the integrity of information within a given wiki. Viewing wikis as a collaborative experience where one is able to interact and enrich one's perspective is one way to not necessarily view information as being explicitly factual. Creating a board of reviews like Wikipedia does would be a difficult control process I would think for the standard wiki developer.
I could see how wikis could be utilized for staff/professional development in my various schools as well as for various administrative projects within my support department of communication disorders. Once a group of individuals is oriented as to how to utilize a wiki, I believe it would be useful. I look forward to creating a wiki for a project in early 2010 to create a more effective, efficient and better overall project. Gregory Jacoby
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